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Marathon sex sessions are a great way to spend your Valentine’s Day, or any day for that matter, but nothing will throw a bucket of ice water on your roll in the hay like needing to take a break to shake out a muscle cramp. Sex can be a great way to get your heart rate up, but if you’re sweating and trembling is due more to exhaustion and muscle fatigue rather than desire for your partner, consider working these exercises into your pre-Valentine, -anniversary, -vacation, -just because sweat sessions so you can go all night!

Squats. Deep Squats.

Squats are great for building strength and endurance in the legs, and the lower you go, the more they will come in handy in the bedroom. Not only will squats make you look great from behind, but they will allow you to take over when you’re on top. Be sure to drive through your heels on the upward motion and keep them in contact with the ground at all times — dropping below 90 degrees can be rough on the knees and this will take the pressure off. At the lowest point of each squat, add five pulses. While the ladies in the movies can drop it down low over and over, in high heels nonetheless, most women don’t have the quad strength it takes. Who can really do that in real life? You can, that’s who, so put on a show! Read Full Post >

We know there’s “guy food” that involves nachos, burgers, wings, and beer. But who knew they were so averse to the most basic garden variety produce like beets and zucchini? Which, according to Matt O., is “an inferior cucumber in every possible way.”

Twelve men dished to Shape the foods that turned them off completely. Just as women don’t understand the need to sit around drinking beer up to our elbows in barbecue sauce, men are apparently lost on our desire to turn kale in to chips and almonds in to milk. Read Full Post >

For years I felt original for using what I thought was my own word to describe how cranky, snippy, and sassy I get when I haven’t eating in a long time. The word is “hangry”, a fusion between hungry and angry, and it describes pretty perfectly the mood that affects many of us when we have low blood sugar. Hearing the first few people use my word was exciting and unifying, like we were apart of the same witty food-pun club! But lately I’ve been hearing it more than ever, so I am reluctant to admit that perhaps I did not, in fact, invent the word hangry. (I’m also being overdramatic, so perhaps I am currently hangry.)

At any rate, science has recently solidified the use of this word: A new study shows that being hangry is a real thing, or at least proves that being hungry definitely affects a person’s mood.

Researchers from Ohio State University set out to prove that low blood sugar is indeed the underlying cause of hunger-induce crankiness. (Read the full NPR report here.) But they didn’t just want to look at how strangers interacted, they wanted to know how we treat our loved ones when we’re hangry, so they studied spouses. 107 couples were recruited for the study and each given voodoo dolls. Read Full Post >

Dating is fun—especially in the flirty, passionate beginning of a relationship. But eventually, life settles in, and between the kids, family, work, and finances, you might forget all about that fire.

It’s perfectly natural—for most people, this passion plunge occurs between one and four years into cohabitation, and women experience it more than men. But that doesn’t mean you have to take the situation, um, lying down.

Keeping in mind all the physical and emotional perks of frequent sex—the cardiovascular benefits alone are impressive—it’s well worth it to make the effort to keep the home fires smoldering. Here are some ways to do just that:

Keep on moving. The benefits of exercise are endless. In the sex column, studies show that people who exercise more get more action in the bedroom—and they’re more satisfied when they do. They also have more stamina and higher levels of self-confidence, which benefit sexual experience. Read Full Post >

Too busy to get busy? There are some pretty impressive health benefits associated with regular rolls in the hay that make it well worth incorporating sex into your life as frequently as possible. It turns out, getting lucky can help you get healthy! We’ll explain how.

It’s heart-healthy. A Scottish study found that couples who had sex more often over a two-week period did their heart a favor by lowering blood-pressure levels. Blood pressure was monitored during stressful situations, and those who got it on regularly showed their heart didn’t have to work extra hard to move blood around their bodies.

It’s a stress-buster. When your brain registers that you’re having an orgasm, it releases the hormone oxytocin (also called the “love hormone”), which has been shown to have a role in reducing stress. And even just physical contact, without doing the actual deed, provides benefits; A study out of Northwestern University showed that couples who kiss and hug are far less tense and have more elevated moods than those who don’t. Read Full Post >

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